• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark 2016
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    City News Roundup

    First responders get a pay raise and more Dallas city news

    Payton Potter
    Sep 21, 2018 | 10:30 am
    Dallas police car
    Cops got a raise.
    Dallas Police/Facebook

    The Dallas Police Department remains at the top of the news, from the aftermath of the Botham Shen Jean shooting to a new chart showing response times to 911 calls.

    First responders got a pay raise, property taxes were marginally reduced, and the 311 system gets a reboot.

    Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

    Guyger watch
    Amber Guyger, the DPD officer under investigation for shooting and killing a man in his own apartment, was spotted by neighbors moving out of her South Side Flats apartment on September 13. In a letter sent to residents, management wrote that they were unable to comment on the case but were "able to confirm that the other resident involved has vacated her apartment and no longer resides at our community."

    Guyger was arrested on September 9 on a manslaughter warrant in the shooting of Botham Shem Jean. She was booked into the Kaufman County Jail, where she posted a bond of $300,000 and was released. Since her release, conflicting accounts about what happened have emerged, with one version stating that Jean was at the door when Guyger entered, and another stating that he was across the room.

    Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall issued a statement on September 20 in response to questions about why Guyger has not been fired, saying that she didn't want to interfere with the criminal investigation. "As an employer, DPD can compel Officer Guyger to provide a statement during a DPD administrative investigation and those statements given to DPD could potentially compromise the criminal investigation," Hall said.

    "That is not a risk I am willing to take," she said. "We cannot let the criminal case be determined on a 'technicality' rather than the facts. An exhaustive and thorough criminal investigation is essential, and as soon as we are assured that conducting an administrative investigation will not impede on the criminal investigation, we will proceed."

    911 response times
    A new chart has emerged showing some improvement in how long it takes a police officer to arrive when you call 911.

    The chart identifies five priority levels, ranging from true emergencies to telephone service calls, and shows response times for each.

    Priority 1 is "Emergency Calls" such as shooting or kidnapping. Priority 2 is "Prompt Calls" such as robbery, fire, and criminal assault. Priority 3 is "General Service Calls" including missing or intoxicated person, or drug house. Priority 4 is "Non-Critical Calls" such as loud music, panhandling, and animal complaints. Priority 5 is "Service Calls" including lost property.

    Police set a goal in late 2017 to decrease response time for Priority 1 calls to 480 seconds by September 2018.

    When the goal was set, the average response to a Priority 1 call was 556 seconds. As of August, the time was 506 seconds.

    Raises for first responders
    The Dallas City Council voted on September 12 to give police officers and firefighters across-the-board pay raises and to bump up starting salaries for beginners.

    The pay raises come alongside a $1.3 billion general budget, which passed with 11 in favor, and two opposed, Mayor Mike Rawlings and councilman Lee Kleinman. Mark Clayton was absent.

    Base salary for police and firefighters climbs to $60,000, with a 3 percent pay raise to all public safety employees across the board.

    The council also voted to lower the property tax rate, from 78.04 cents per $100 valuation to 77.67. With rising property values, the newly adopted tax rate adds around $15 million to the budget.

    The budget also sustained other quality-of-life issues that appeared in City Manager T.C. Broadnax's originally proposed budget, including $500,000 toward improving and expanding bike lanes.

    The 411 on the 311
    The city is working to improve its 311 website and will launch a new mobile application called "OurDallas," available on October 1.

    According to a release, the current 311 app will be taken down September 26 at 10 pm. Online access will go down on September 28 at 4 pm, to begin the transition to a new system.

    Residents can to back to the old-school dialing 311 to report an issue while the app and website are temporarily disabled. The 311 call center will be staffed with additional agents to handle the anticipated increase in call volume during this time.

    city-news-roundup
    news/city-life

    most read posts

    Surprising string of closures surfaces in this Dallas restaurant news

    Ambitious Indian restaurant Jashan opens at Plano's Legacy North

    2 Dallas suburbs have the highest rents in DFW right now, report finds

    Merry & bright news

    Dallas makes Santa's nice list as 2nd most festive U.S. city in 2025

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 28, 2025 | 11:15 am
    Klyde Warren Park Christmas tree
    Getty Images
    Dallas sparkles and shines for the holidays.

    In merry and bright news, Dallas has landed a coveted spot near the top of a 2025 ranking of America's most festive cities.

    Home services platform Thumbtack analyzed holiday light installation requests from customers from October 2024 to 2025 to determine the most festive U.S. cities. Rankings were based on the "relative frequency" of requests after being adjusted for the population of each state and metro area.

    Dallas comes in at No. 2.

    Dallas has been resting easy at the top of Santa's nice list since 2022. But the city's festive spirit has yet to dethrone Austin, which has held on to the top spot for four years in a row.

    There's plenty of dazzling shows illuminating Dallas-Fort Worth for the holidays, including drive-thru light parks and CultureMap's very own ice rink at Main Street Garden in downtown Dallas.

    Other festive holiday events happening around Dallas include many more local ice rinks, pop-up bars, plus volunteer opportunities to give back to the local community. Readers can also keep up with all of Dallas' holiday happenings in CultureMap's season-long editorial series.

    Other big Texas cities like Houston and San Antonio also all landed top-10 spots, proving the Lone Star State is much more festive than the rest of the country.

    "From Texas to Florida, the South is setting the standard for holiday spirit, and in true Texas fashion, bigger is definitely brighter," the report said. "Mild winters and a strong sense of community keep the Lone Star State shining at the top."

    Thumbtack's top 10 most festive U.S. cities in 2024 are:

    • No. 1 – Austin, Texas
    • No. 2 – Dallas, Texas
    • No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
    • No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
    • No. 5 – Sacramento, California
    • No. 6 – Houston, Texas
    • No. 7 – San Francisco, California
    • No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
    • No. 9 – San Antonio, Texas
    • No. 10 – Atlanta, Georgia
    festive citiesholidayschristmasrankingsdallas
    news/city-life
    Loading...